The All Progressives Congress and its Rivers State governorship candidate in the April 11, 2015 election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of frustrating their bid to inspect the electoral materials used for the poll.
Peterside and the APC had on May 3, 2015, filed their petition before the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja to challenge the election of the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Nyemson Wike.
The Justice Muazu Pindiga-led tribunal had on June 11, 2015 granted an ex parte order permitting the petitioners to personally or through their lawyers or forensic expert inspect the electoral materials used for the poll.
On Monday, the tribunal entertained parties’ argument on an application by Wike asking for setting aside of the order granted the petitoners on June 11.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) told the tribunal that INEC had continued to refuse his clients’ agents to inspect the election materials, a development which he described as a manifestation of an alliance between INEC, Wike and the PDP to frustrate the hearing of the petition.
But INEC, Wike and PDP, while justifying the refusal of INEC to allow the petitioners to inspect the electoral materials, argued that it would have been wrong for the electoral umpire to allow the inspection when Wike’s applications challenging the tribunal’s jurisdiction and the propriety of the June 11 order, were pending.
Olujinmi, in a counter-argument to Wike’s application, urged the tribunal to among others urged the tribunal to dismiss the application on the grounds that the order allowing the inspection of the electoral materials was not directed at him (Wike), but at INEC.
He said, “We have shown that INEC has not objected the tribunal’s order and today, they have confessed before the tribunal that they disobeyed the order for inspection because …Read More
Source:: New Mail
